Point of Grace – 10.20.24    Sermon Notes

Giving is the Gift!

Why and How?

Romans 12:1
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”  NIV

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” MSG 

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,
in view of God’s mercy, (our giving to God starts with His giving to us)
to offer (present) your bodies  (our whole beings)
as a sacrifice (a surrender), that is
                                        living,  
                                      holy, (set apart to God, consecrated to Jesus)
                                      pleasing to God—
this is your true and proper (spiritual/reasonable) worship.  

“… it is incorrect to presume that Christ ends all sacrifice.  Yes, His once-for-all bloody sacrifice accomplished the purpose anticipated by all the OT sacrifices as the all-availing sacrifice of atonement for sin.  He is the sin offering… At the same time, the NT repeatedly calls for believers
to sacrifice themselves to God and others in response to the Gospel.” 
(Michael Middendorf – Concordia Commentary – Romans 9-16)
 

God always calls His people to offer their whole selves as “living sacrifices” in worship of Him. This is a significant part of following Him of learning the life of trusting Him. 

Proverbs 3:5-12
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 

Luke 12 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
0 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” 

Why is this important for the giving of financial offerings?

Money is important and represents something significant about us which is why it must be part of what is offered to God as a “living sacrifice” which is true and proper worship.  If it is not sacrificially offered to God it will remain a powerful and cruel god in our lives as we look to it for security, significance, hope, and evidence of a well-lived life.  If we cannot “let go of” a sacrificially generous percentage of our income as an offering to God, money has become too important to us. 

Father, Son, Holy Spirit - gathering in Your presence in the first part of the first day of this week is a great joy.  Accept our “sacrifices of praise” as an offering …. You are worthy to receive our first and best for You gave first and You gave your best in the sacrifice of Yourself for us……
Thank you for your sacrificial generosity!

We also bring our financial offerings before you this week.  Thank you for calling us to regularly return to You a sacrificially generous portion of what you have already graciously given us through our income. Increase our faith so that our offerings honor you, reveal relentless dependence on you, flow with joyful love and help advance Your Kingdom cause. 
Thank you for your abundant provision!

We consecrate this coming week of life to You, our gracious Savior and Lord!

Amen